Old Habits Die Hard
by Mellkat86
Summary: This is a follow on story from 'Locked and Alone' and 'The Strength of Love'. You do not have to read the previous, as this could be read as a standalone story. Rumpel is put into an awkward position by Gideon, but it is for a good cause. Belle is suspicious that something is going on.
1. Chapter 1

The heavy sigh was the only sound in the back room of Rumpel's shop. His annoyance of the small watch piece was getting the better of him. It was a simple enough job. Strip and clean. As he had taken the back plate off the watch, the mechanism burst out of its constraints and were now all over his workbench. He sat there for an hour already, trying different combinations of the pieces to get it back together. It was alluding him. Yes, he could magic it all back into position, but where would the fun be in that?

Dropping the tweezers onto the bench, Rumpel stood from his stool and went over to the whiskey sitting on the side. He poured himself a drink and necked it in one for courage to resolve his eminent problem. His hand rubbed the back of his head as he sat back down on his stool, ready to try again.

Tweezers in hand, Rumpel was ready to try again but his attention was drawn to the front of the shop by the ringing of the bell. Footsteps entered the shop and then the door was closed. Rumpel waited for someone to call him, but the footsteps came closer. The curtain moved and Gideon stuck his head between the curtains, at the sight of his father he smiled.

"Hey, father." Gideon greeted and swept the curtain out of his way with his arm, and stepped into the room to stop on the other side of the workbench.

Rumpel smiled briefly before looking back to the watch in front of him saying. "Hello Gideon."

Gideon spied on the watch piece and leant down onto the counter for closer inspection. "What're you doing?"

"Trying to put this back together." Rumpel informed him as he grabbed a piece of the watch piece with the tweezers. He gently laid it into the watch and then picked another piece off the table.

"Why don't you just use magic?" Gideon rested his chin into the palm of his hand, his elbow propping the weight of his head.

Rumpel closed his eyes to count to himself, his annoyance boiling. "Because… I am trying to behave myself. Your mother wants me to use less magic."

"I would think she would understand on this occasion." Gideon stood up and rested his hands onto the edge of the table.

"Yes, she probably would." Rumpel replied in agreement, placing another piece into the watch. "But it always starts with the smallest of lapses." Gideon watched his father rebuild the small watch piece. It took some time but Rumpel finally got it all back together and as he replaced the back plate to the watch, he let out a triumphant sigh. Getting up off his stool, Rumpel crossed to his whiskey for another glass to celebrate his victory. He gestured to Gideon if he wanted one but Gideon shook his head.

Sipping at the golden liquor, Rumpel took in the sight of his son. He knew his son had not come to Rumpel to simply hang out with his old man. There was something troubling his son. In the past, this would have been opportunity to put a deal into motion, but not with him. Gideon could have the world if he wanted it, in Rumpel's mind, and Rumpel would pay the price for his son. With that in mind, Rumpel sat back down on his stool and readied himself for the proposition.

"What can I do for you, Gideon?" Rumpel inquired.

"I'm not here…" Gideon stopped seeing his father raise an eyebrow at him. "Ok. I need some advice and possibly some help."

Rumpel rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "What?"

"You know, how Lilly and I have been seeing each other for about seven months now?" Gideon's cheeks reddened as he spoke to Rumpel. "Well, I want to ask her to marry me."

The room fell silent. Rumpel sat staring at his son. He knew they had become very close, Lilly and Gideon, but he had not realised it had got to the point of a marriage proposal. It was very big step for his son to be undertaking. However, as much as Rumpel had had his reservations of Gideon seeing Lilly, as she was Maleficent's daughter, the two had been inseparable since the Charming's anniversary party. There had been quite a few mornings, where Rumpel had come up from the basement in the morning to find Lilly stood in his kitchen making breakfast for everyone. She was pleasant enough and Rumpel had found it easy to make conversation with her.

"Father?" Gideon touched Rumpel's hand that held his whiskey glass.

Rumpel shook the thoughts from his head. "Sorry."

"So," Gideon paused. "What do you think?"

"Gideon, I am not the best one when it comes to this sort of thing to ask advice. Your mother is the best one to talk to about this." Rumpel said being honest. "But, if you're asking me, do I think she'll make you happy? Then I do. And if marrying her is what in your heart you think will make you happy, then I wouldn't stand in your way, son."

Gideon's smile was wide. "Thank you, father."

Rumpel finished his whiskey in one. "Have you told your mother yet?"

"Yeah…" Gideon said rubbing at the back of his head. "I don't want to tell her just yet."

"Why not?" Rumpel frowned at his son across the workbench. Belle would kill Rumpel if he did not tell her, so he hoped his son would save him from death by telling her himself.

"There's the help bit, I wanted to talk to you about." Gideon looked very coy before continuing. "I want to do a surprise proposal."

"Okay." Rumpel pursed his lips after he spoke, thinking 'what are you getting me involved in?'

Gideon leant forward onto his elbows onto the workbench. "I just don't have any ideas of how to do it."

"And you think I would?" Rumpel said with a chuckle.

"Father, you can be quite romantic at times. I've seen you with mother." Gideon said.

Rumpel scrunched his eyebrows at his son. "I only ever do what I feel is right at the time. I don't think about what would be romantic."

"Okay then," Gideon leant off the workbench and ambled round the bench to stand beside his father, his hip leaning against the workbench. "How would you do it, if you was to ask mother to marry you today as a surprise?"

With a deep sigh, Rumpel scratched at his brow and thought about it before he said. "First thing first, I would get the engagement ring. Something special but not too over the top, because I would want the wedding ring to out shine it."

Gideon took a mental note of what his father said, nodding his head, as he said. "And?"

"And then, I would…" He thought about it and then smiled. "Take your mother to our cabin for a weekend getaway. Then whilst we were having tea, I would hide the engagement ring in her teacup."

"You two have a fascination with teacups." Gideon said, rolling his eyes at his parents.

"It's a special moment from our past." Rumpel informed his son with a playful shove.

Gideon laughed and then said. "But that wouldn't work for me. We don't have a thing like that."

"You could take her away to the cabin for the weekend." Rumpel said, loosening his tie from around his neck. "The moment would probably present itself to you."

"What? As I give her some cereal for breakfast?" Gideon scoffed.

"No. I mean like if the two of you were sat in front of the fire and then you felt the time was right, you could propose to her." Rumpel waved his hand in the air, trying to get his point across.

Gideon gave Rumpel a lopsided smile. "Are you positive you're not romantic?"

Leaning to one side, Rumpel glared up at his son beside him. "I will remind you that I am the Dark One and you are not too big to go over my knee."

They laughed together at what Rumpel said, but Gideon seemed to have a sobering thought. "It doesn't sound very special at the moment." Gideon said, covering his face with his hands.

As Rumpel went to speak, the shop door opened and rung with the bell. "Rumpel!"

The two men looked between each other hearing Belle's voice in the other room. The curtains parted and Belle appeared who looked surprised to see Rumpel and Gideon together. She walked around the workbench taking in the sight of the two of them and kissed Rumpel.

"I came to see if you wanted to go and get some lunch together." Belle suggested to him, her arm naturally hung around his shoulders.

"Erm…" Rumpel looked at Gideon and then back to Belle. "We were just talking about something, sweetheart. If you go and order, I'll be there in a minute."

"Talking about what?" Belle asked as her gaze split between the two men.

Gideon shook his head at his mother. "Nothing really. Just father and son stuff."

Her eyebrow raised at what Gideon said. "Stuff?"

"You know," Rumpel pulled her closer with an arm around her waist, bringing her face close to his. "Stuff!"

"Oh!" Belle said before kissing Rumpel quickly and leaving his embrace to leave the room, saying as she went. "I'll leave you boys to talk about 'stuff' then." They waited until they heard the shop door open and close again, signalling that they were alone again. Rumpel stood from his stool and walked over to where his suit jacket was hanging.

"Let's do the first call of business first." Rumpel said, shrugging on his suit jacket. "Let me have lunch with your mother and then tonight, come round my house and I'll have a selection of rings for you to choose from."

"Okay. Thank you, father." Gideon said approaching his father and hugged him. Rumpel squeezed his dear son, relishing at being able to hold him. He never pushed for any physical contact. Rumpel was well aware that some men did not like showing emotion or touching their fathers. Nevertheless, he was so happy that his son was comfortable enough with him that it did not matter if they were alone or in the street, Gideon would hug his father no matter who was around.


	2. Chapter 2

Flipping the steak in the frying pan, Rumpel glanced at the clock behind him in his kitchen wondering where Gideon was. He had said that he would be at Rumpel's house half an hour ago. Rumpel shook his head at his son and carried on chopping some vegetables to make a salad to go with his steak. It had been a long day.

After having lunch with Belle, who had spent the majority of their lunch trying to find out what they were discussing, Rumpel had spent the rest of the afternoon sorting through some things in the back room. He was positive that he was missing some potions, but he could not think where they would be or who would have used them. It was as if the potions had been thrown.

Rumpel paused hearing his front door open. "It's only me!"

"Where you been, Gideon?" Rumpel sighed with relief. He had not noticed that he had been worrying about his baby boy. Though he did spend a lot of his time worrying about Belle and Gideon.

Gideon strode into the kitchen with a bag that he placed on the end of the counter. "Mother was trying to find out what we had been talking about."

Rumpel chuckled imagining Belle torturing her son into a confession. She was so inquisitive it was troublesome at times. She had to know what was going on. It was Rumpel's fault. If he had not kept so many secrets from her in the past, she would not be so desperate to find out what they were doing, or more what Rumpel was up to. He knew she trusted him, but old habits were hard to kill. Experience with his own demons had taught him that.

"And what did you tell her?" Rumpel questioned as he checked on his steak and potatoes in their pans.

"Ooo…" Gideon was suddenly beside Rumpel, leaning over to see what was on the stove. "That smells delicious."

"Back off, dustbin." Rumpel lightly pushed his son away. "Just because you can eat us all out of house and home, does not mean you get dibs on my dinner."

"Mother served pasta. That's… that's just so…" Gideon seemed to slip into a daydream of food. He rolled his eyes at his son and went back to chopping some more vegetables for his salad. Rumpel knew that he was the better cook between Belle and himself. As long as she had a recipe book in front of her, she was able to cope with most dishes. Cooking from scratch was not her strong suit.

Scrapping the chopped vegetables into a bowl, Rumpel poured in some salad dressing and tossed the bowl until all the salad was covered in the sweet dressing. In his mind's eye, he could see Belle standing on the other side of the counter watching him prepare dinner. She would be chatting away about her day, telling him about some more books she had found in the library that she had not read yet. He laughed to himself at the vision.

Gideon seemed to break out of his daydream with the noise of Rumpel laughing. "I told her you were talking to me about working part time in the shop with you, because you wanted some more free time."

Rumpel stopped and looked at his son. "Free time for what?"

"That's what she asked." Gideon replied.

"And you told her?" Rumpel returned to tossing his salad.

"So you could take up fishing." He said quickly.

The bowl banged onto the kitchen counter as Rumpel starred at his son beside him. "Fishing!"

"It was the first thing to come to mind." Gideon shrugged his shoulders at his father.

"You've told your mother," Rumpel pointed at his son and then to himself as he continued. "That I! Want to take up… Fishing?" His son shrugged at him again. Rolling his eyes at his son, Rumpel picked up the salad bowl and began laying some onto his plate. He ignored Gideon as he served up the rest of his dinner onto the plate and left everything on the side to take his plate into the dining room. Rumpel sat down at the head of the table with Gideon following him into the room.

Gideon's attention was drawn to the foam cushion of rings that were already laid out on the table. Sitting down in front of them, Gideon began looking through the rings that his father had brought home from pawnshop. Rumpel watched his son as he ate, still in shock that his son had dropped him into a big lie. How was he going to explain to Belle that he did not want to take up fishing? If he did not take up fishing, she would suspect that they were really up to something. More precisely, that Rumpel was up to something.

They had had a blissful seven months together. No arguing. Just acceptance. They were being a couple again, but stronger than before. Spending evenings together. Planning future trips. Just how he had imagined it. Now Gideon had put him in a familiar positon. As much as it was for a good cause, his son's happiest, Rumpel did not know whether he could or would be willing to lie to Belle. They had come a long way. Leaving their past behind them. However, it seemed this could dredge up hurtful memories.

"What do you think of this one, father?" Gideon held one of the rings towards his father, interrupting Rumpel's train of thought.

Laying his fork on his plate, Rumpel took the ring from his son and examined it. "Very nice."

"Do you think it's good enough?" Gideon looked worried.

"I think as long as you think it is, son, then it doesn't matter what I think." Rumpel told him holding the ring out for Gideon to take. He nodded his head at Rumpel and flashed a quick smile before taking the ring from his father. Rumpel was just happy that his son was happy.

"So," Rumpel broke the short silence, cutting into his steak. "What about your plan?"

Gideon was looking at the ring as he spoke. "I think take her to the cabin." Rumpel nodded his head eating a piece of steak. "And like you said, wait for the moment."

"It'll happen naturally. Just like it did for your mother and me." He told his son before taking another mouthful of food.

"I was thinking of maybe filling the cabin with roses, so when she woke up in the morning I could propose to her." Gideon said, looking to his father as he played with the ring between his fingers.

"Sounds good…" The phone in his pocket began to ring and disturbed Rumpel. "To me" He finished as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. Flicking the phone open, Rumpel answered. "Hello."

"Rumpel." His name rolled off her tongue.

"Belle." He replied, closing his eyes to the feelings her voice inflicted on him.

"What are you doing?" She asked with a suggestive tone.

Rumpel looked to their son. "I'm eating my dinner. Or should I say, trying to eat it."

"Maybe I could bring desert over?" Belle's evocative question hit him deep, stirring feelings deep inside himself.

"Erm…" He stuttered his words out. "I… I'm… busy. I can't… tonight."

"What?" Belle went from being suggestive to being annoyed in a second.

Inwardly, Rumpel hated turning her down. "I've got some things to sort out. Sorry, sweetheart."

"Right. Okay, then. Well, if you change your mind, give me a ring." She told him before hanging up. Closing the phone, Rumpel placed it on the table with his eyes closed. He took a deep breath and then opened his eyes to look at his son. The young man looked sheepish.

"You owe me big time now." Rumpel told his son with a finger pointing at him. "That's going to cost me!"

Gideon's eyes widened at his father's words. "Sorry."

"Anyway, so we're going to the cabin and you're thinking of doing it the following morning?" Rumpel said, checking he was following his son correctly before they were interrupted.

"Yeah." Gideon nodded his head at his father as he spoke.

"Let me deal with the details." Rumpel pushed some food onto his fork and held it to his mouth as he told his son. "I'll make it special for you." As he ate his food, Gideon nodded his head at him. If Rumpel was going to get into trouble with Belle, then he was going to make it worth the earache. She would not be happy with him. He knew it. But, what was he supposed to do when his son came to him for help?


	3. Chapter 3

Rumpel closed the door to his shop and locked it as his gaze scanned the street for anything of interest. Pocketing his keys, he crossed the road and headed towards the library, where he could take the stairs to Belle's apartment. All day he had been in the shop trying to organise things for their son's proposal. He had even been to talk to Maurice to order some roses. The look his father-in-law had given him would never change. The man hated Rumpel. Not that Rumpel had given him any reason not to hate him over the years. Taking someone's daughter and beating them to near death might cause them to never forgive you.

Maurice had questioned why the order, but Rumpel had not given him an answer, instead had told him not to mention it to Belle or anyone if he was asked. He knew as soon as he said it that he was digging himself a bigger hole and giving Maurice an advantage over him. Belle had already been on the phone again, wondering why Rumpel was being evasive with her. Hence, the reason he was going over to her apartment to have dinner and soothe things over with her.

He reached the landing of her stairs and knocked the door. Rumpel never felt right walking into her apartment without an invitation. It did not feel like home. It was her home. As much as Rumpel wanted her to move back into his home, their home, she had not felt ready for them to move in together again. Lingering memories.

The door opened to reveal Belle, who smiled at seeing it was him. "Hey."

"Hello, sweetheart." Rumpel said stepping towards her and engulfing her into a hug. He loved the smell of her. Even though, he had seen her yesterday, it felt like he had not seen her for a long time. Cradling the back of her head, Rumpel smothered his face into the crook of her neck, never wanting it to end.

"I got a stew on the stove." She told him withdrawing from their hug to take his hand and shut the door before leading him to the couch. They sat down together, their fingers laced together in Belle's lap.

"You done much today?" Rumpel asked pulling his tie to remove it and laid it on the arm of the couch beside him, and unbuttoned some of his shirt.

"Nothing much. Just sorting some catalogues in the library." Belle told him. He could not help but stare into her eyes. The dark blue pools of her eyes were hypnotising.

He nodded his head and stroked his thumb over the back of her hand. "So, do we have plans for this weekend? Do you want to go anywhere?"

"I thought we could go to the cabin for some alone time." Belle trailed her finger down his chest. Through his clothes, he could feel the heat from her finger dance across his chest. His gaze dropped to her finger, following the path it took down his chest and stomach, and then down his thigh.

"Cabin?" Rumpel mumbled with his mind shutting down on him.

"Yeah. You and me. Cabin. Weekend away." Belle squeezed his fingers, trying to get his attention.

Rumpel swallowed and then shook his head. "Sorry, no, we can't go to the cabin this weekend."

"Why not? She turned on the couch to lean her arm on his shoulder and placed her hand on his chest. He could not help it. Every time she touched him, it was distracting.

"I… Erm…" He took a deep breath and continued. "I've got some people in there updating it." Inwardly he groaned at another lie. He knew if he told her that Gideon and Lilly were using it, she would come up with a way of either getting them to change their plans or would push the subject on why they could not change their plans.

"What? I liked the cabin the way it was!" Belle questioned. He chanced a look at her through the corner of his eye, she did not look happy with him. Remaining calm, Rumpel concentrated on her hand he had in his and played with her fingers.

"It was just getting a bit… old. I wanted to freshen things up in there."

She poked her finger into his chest. "What are you up to?"

"Me?" Rumpel replied, surprised she had jumped to that so soon.

"Yes, you!" She countered, shuffling closer to him. "You're up to something, Rumpelstiltskin." His head snapped to look at her when she used his full name. She never used his full name unless he had done something stupid. Rumpel did not like being put on the spot.

"It's my cabin." Rumpel pointed to himself as he spoke. "If I want to update it, then I will update it."

"My? What happened to 'our' cabin?" Belle inquired and pulled her hand out of his. Rumpel was beginning to get a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Was keeping his promise to his son worth this? He knew he would do anything for his children… his child, but was it worth upsetting Belle. All their hard work was going to take a hit.

Rumpel stood up from the couch and went to the kitchen to get a glass out of the cupboard. He shook his head at his thoughts, trying to figure out what he was going to do as he grabbed his bottle of whiskey from the top of the fridge. The glass chinked when the neck of the bottle hit the rim of the glass. Rumpel poured himself a very healthy amount before replacing the lid on the whiskey. He could see her on the couch watching him and her annoyance was evident on her face.

'It'll be worth it' he told himself downing the whiskey, burning its way down his throat, and said to Belle. "Look, you know it's our cabin. I just wanted to give it a makeover. I don't want any more reminders of the past. I'm trying to move forward with you."

Her annoyance seem to dissolve with his words. "Oh, Rumpel!" She stood from the couch and came over to him in the kitchen, slinging her arms around his neck. "Why didn't you just say that?"

"Should I have to?" Rumpel pulled out of her arms. "I'm not plotting world domination. You don't have to think I'm always up to something."

She closed her eyes for a second and then opened them, reaching out to touch Rumpel's chest. "I'm sorry. Sometimes I can't help it. Please, forgive me."

"It's okay." He said holding his arms out to her, inviting her to come closer. Belle stepped into his embrace and kissed him sweetly on the cheek. She rested her head against his shoulder and relaxed against him. Closing his eyes, Rumpel chastised himself for lying to Belle. So much for turning over a new leaf and trying to be a better man for her. Habits, they are a killer. It did annoy him that she was so quick to jump to he was plotting behind her back. No matter if it was for a good cause or not.

Belle pulled out of their hug and went over to the stove checking on their stew. "This is ready. Why don't you take your jacket off and I'll serve this up?"

"Okay." Rumpel mumbled and shrugged his suit jacket off as he walked over to the couch. He laid it over the back of the couch. The front door opened and Gideon and Lilly came through the door. Rumpel turned to see them as Gideon closed the door.

Lilly always looked shy when she saw Rumpel, he had noted, but then she had probably heard many stories from his past involving her mother. He greeted them both with a smile and went to the small round dining table, sitting down with his back to the windows so he could see everyone in the room. Rumpel watched as Belle greeted Lilly warmly with a hug and invited the young couple to join them for dinner. Rumpel rubbed aimlessly at his thigh. He was not in pain. It was more a coping mechanism he had developed over the years. Damn conscious was getting the better of him.

The chair beside him scrapped on the wooden floorboards. Rumpel looked up to see his son sit down beside him. "Hey."

"If your mother asks, the cabin is getting a makeover." Rumpel whispered to Gideon, leaning towards his son.

Gideon frowned. "Is it?"

"No, she wanted to use it this weekend." He told his son quietly. "It was the first thing to mind to stop her from going."

"Okay." Gideon nodded his head at his father.

"Hi, Mr Gold." Lilly greeted taking the other seat beside Rumpel and opposite Gideon.

"Lilly." He sat back against the back of his chair. "I hope all is well?"

"Oh, yes. Definitely." She smiled broadly at Gideon across the table as she spoke. "You?"

Rumpel winched a smile at her. "A little complicated at the minute, but it'll all work out for the best in the end. I hope."

"Anything I can help with?" Lilly asked as she touched her hand on top of Rumpel's that laid on the table. His gaze went to their hands and then to her face. He was not used to contact with anyone that was not Belle or Gideon.

"Erm… No, it's okay." Rumpel said, feeling uncomfortable with her hand on his.

Belle intervened by putting a bowl of stew down in front of Rumpel. Lilly withdrew her hand from Rumpel's and took her bowl from Belle, thanking her as she did. He pondered the young woman. She had an innocence about her and a hint of pain that she tried to hide beneath her mask. Rumpel could relate to that. He knew she had it rough growing up. Much like his own childhood had been.

"Rumpel," Belle called him from his thoughts. "Are you not eating?" He looked down at the steaming bowl in front of him and picked up the spoon that had materialised beside the bowl. They all chatted as he dug into his stew. Gideon was very much like Belle, able to see the smallest of good in someone. There was many similarities between the two couples. Gideon had brought Lilly out of herself and from the darkness, just as Belle had done the same for him.

"So, when are we going fishing?" Belle asked, kicking him under the table.

He winched from the sudden pain and shot a look of annoyance at his wife opposite. "What?"

"Gideon told me you're thinking about taking up fishing." She told him, gesturing towards Gideon who was staring down at his bowl.

"Yeah…" Rumpel glared at Gideon. "It was something I did when I was a young lad. It used to do the same thing as spinning does for me. Quiet time to think."

"I tried fishing once, but I kept getting the line tangled." Lilly said reaching for some bread from the centre of the table.

Belle touched Lilly's arm. "There you go. Rumpel, you could take Lilly fishing."

"What?" Rumpel blurted with a spoon of stew held up to his mouth. The two looked at each other. Lilly was the first to turn away, looking to Gideon across the table.

"Give you two a chance to get to know one another." Belle took a spoonful from her stew and watched the two as she put it into her mouth.

"I… I haven't even bought anything to go fishing with yet." Rumpel told them.

"Well, when you do then." Belle shook her head at him. The look Rumpel gave his son was nothing compared to the kick in the shin he gave him under the table. Gideon's knee hit the underside of the table hard, making everything on the table jump. The two women looked shocked at the table whilst the two men stared at each other, a silent conversation between them.

"Gideon!" Belle proclaimed at him.

"Sorry, mother. I just got a sudden pain my leg." Gideon apologised, never breaking the exchange between father and son. Rumpel shook his head and went back to eating his stew quickly. He did often wonder if having a family was really, what he had craved all those years spent on his own in the Dark Castle. It just caused him trouble.

When he had finished, he stood up from the table and went into the kitchen to put his bowl into the sink. He rinsed it under the tap and left it on the side, drying his hands on the nearby dishcloth. As he watched his family chat whilst they ate, Rumpel felt the pull to leave. He had to get out of there before he was dragged into more lies or promises he could not keep. Rumpel did not want to disappoint his son, but he also did not want any more baggage between Belle and him.

Rubbing at his eyebrow, Rumpel came back to the table and lent over to give Belle a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."

He started towards the couch where his jacket and tie were, as Belle called behind him. "You're not staying over?"

"No." Rumpel paused grabbing his jacket and tie, looking at her over his shoulder. "I've got some things to take care of."

"Oh… Okay." Belle's disappointment could be heard in her voice. Before he changed his mind, he left and closed the door behind him. His hand lingered on the doorknob. He wanted nothing more than to stay with her tonight. Staying meant that there would be further conversations and the possibility of him being tangled into more lies. He could not lie to her anymore. It stabbed his heart every time.


	4. Chapter 4

The bell on Grannies door rung as Rumpel entered the diner. The occupants of the diner looked up at him and then returned to what they were doing. After all this time, he was not used to the looks that people gave him. The Dark One always had a presence, even when he was not doing anything evil. Even in the early days of the curse, everyone had avoided him, worried he was going to up their rent or call for it to be paid early. Now everyone just wondered if he was going to bring darkness over Storybrooke instead of worrying about their rent. Not that he asked anyone for it anymore. It was not as if he needed the money.

He crossed over to the counter and waited for Ruby or Grannie to make an appearance. Rumpel was hoping to get a chance to talk to Ruby, needing her assistance for his son's secret proposal. His instinct was to go to Belle, but he could not do that, as Gideon did not want her knowing yet. He rubbed at his face thinking of the hour-long phone call he had received in the middle of the night, Belle worried that something had change between them. Rumpel knew he had not managed to quieten her concerns, but at least he had got her to agree to go to sleep.

"Ah, Rumpel." Ruby welcomed walking behind the counter to meet him. "What can I do for you?"

Rumpel looked around the diner. "Is there somewhere we can chat in private?"

Ruby looked concerned as she gestured for him to follow her. She led him into the back and then into the kitchen. The two cooks glanced at them and then ignored them, preparing the next order they had on the tickets in front of them. The heat from the kitchen hit Rumpel as he entered the room. Overdressed to be in such a warm room.

"I need your help with something." Rumpel began, pulling at the collar of his shirt as he tried to cool. "But I need you to keep it to yourself. I trust you can do that?"

"Of course." Ruby took a step closer to Rumpel.

Rumpel checked over his shoulder, making sure no one was stood in the ordering window. "Gideon is going to be proposing to Lilly this weekend."

"Oooo!" She exclaimed clapping her hands together. Rumpel glared at her and she quietened instantly.

"They're going to be going to my cabin tonight and I wanted to have a meal prepared for them, but also make the cabin look a little more romantic." Rumpel explained to Ruby.

She nodded her head at him. "I could definitely help with that."

"Good. I've ordered some roses from Belle's father and he's delivering them to the cabin this morning. So they need to be scattered around and that sort of thing." Rumpel gestured around with his hand.

"Okay." Ruby acknowledge. "When are they going to the cabin?"

"About six. After Lilly has finished her shift at the gas station." Rumpel informed her, his attention drawn through the ordering window to the door of the diner when the bell rung. He could not help the smile when he saw Belle coming into the diner. Grabbing Ruby by her forearm, he pulled her out of sight of the window and out of the view of Belle. She would only ask more questions, if she saw him talking to one of her friends.

"If you could set up a table for dinner for when they get there, maybe some candles and that kind of thing." Rumpel whispered to Ruby, keeping his voice down from his wife.

Ruby gave him a firm nod. As Rumpel pushed the door to leave the kitchen, he turned to Ruby and said. "Don't tell Belle. She doesn't know."

"Really?" Ruby questioned with a frown.

"Gideon doesn't want her to know yet." Rumpel said, giving her a coy smile.

He stopped his movement when Ruby touched his arm. "That's got to have put you in awkward position."

Rumpel looked at her hand on his arm. At seeing where his gaze was focus, Ruby yanked her hand away and smiled apologetically at him. He did not mind her touching him. He just had not expected it. Shrugging his shoulders at her, he left the kitchen and strode over to where Belle was hunch over the counter, waiting for service.

Exploiting the chance to take in his wife, Rumpel let his gaze wander over her, taking in the sight of her strong legs and curve of her behind. He would never get tired of her. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Out of all the women that had been with him over the years, she had been the only one that had given herself completely to him. There was nothing sexier to Rumpel than having her body and her heart at his beckon call.

He quietly shuffled up behind her and gently pressed himself against her. Belle gasped at feeling the contact behind her. His hands drew around her waist whilst he leaned against her, his lips brushing up against her ear. He knew she liked it when he did this. Her cheeks flushed and her skin became very hot.

"Hello." Rumpel whispered into her ear.

Belle crooked her neck to see him over her shoulder. "Hi."

"Lunch?" He asked and kissed the skin behind her ear, causing her body to shudder.

"Depends." She said with her eyes closed.

"On?" Rumpel clenched at her clothing, refusing to let go of her.

She opened her eyes and looked at him. "On what you planned to eat."

"Oh, dearie." He groaned into her neck. Belle turned in his arms and laid her arms around his neck, smirking at the reaction of her husband.

Rumpel swallowed hard looking at her and said. "My afternoon is free, if yours is?"

"Well…" Her smile widened as she spoke. "I had hoped to spend some time with my husband, but if you have a better offer?"

"I think," Rumpel caught Ruby waving at him from the corner of his eye. "You should go back to your apartment and I will grab some food, so we don't run into this husband of yours. I've heard he's can be quite dangerous at times."

"So can his wife when she's being ignored." Belle told him before kissing him hard, clutching at his face between her hands. She left him in a spell at the counter, his eyes closed to savour the taste of her. The bell ringing above the door woke him from his daydream.

Ruby was now standing on the opposite side of the counter. "I've organised the food. Grannie's going to cover me, so I'll head over there now and start organising things."

He shook his head trying to clear the fuzziness Belle had casted on him. "Yep. Okay." Rumpel reached into his pants pocket and pulled a wad of money out to hand to Ruby. "Can you do our usual order to go and use the rest of the money for the thing?"

"Not a problem. Be right back." She told him taking the money, grinning at Rumpel as he fell onto the stool at the counter. Belle always had a way of intoxicating him. It was worse than being drunk. Losing all control over himself as she spoke his name, touched him or even looked at him in a certain way. It was stronger than someone commanding him with his dagger.

Rumpel scratched at the back of his neck when his phone in his pocket rung. Delving into his pocket, he nodded to Ruby as she placed a bag of take out in front of him onto the counter. He flicked open the phone to see Gideon was calling. Pressing to answer the call, Rumpel lent against the counter resting his head into his hand as he greeted his son.

"Father," Gideon sounded out of sorts. "We need to talk. Where are you?"

"I'm in Grannies." Rumpel lent off the counter at the sound of his son's voice.

"I'm at your shop. I'll wait for you here." Gideon told his father and put the phone down. Grumbling to himself, Rumpel shoved his phone back into his pocket and grabbed the food from the counter to leave Grannies. He quickened his step to get to his shop, wanting to get this over with so he could go and meet Belle. Rumpel did not want to miss seeing Belle. She was worried about them and he wanted to put her at ease.

Opening the door to his shop, Rumpel found Gideon pacing back and forth in the middle of the shop. He closed the door and put the food down on the glass counter nearest to him. Gideon stopped and quickly moved over to his father.

"Lilly has to work the late shift." Gideon was panicking. "It's going to ruin everything."

Rumpel took a heavy breath. "It will be fine, Gideon."

"How is it?" Gideon asked, shoving his hands on his hips.

"Because, young man," Rumpel pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I own the gas station. I'll call and get them to rearrange the shift with somebody else." He told his son, flicking open his phone to find the number for the gas station.

"Really?" His son was shocked. Rumpel quickly took care of the situation, telling Sneezy he would pay him double for working the extra shift. The dwarf had taken the deal faster than Rumpel thought he would. He had been thinking he would have had to offer more than double. Maybe three times or extra holiday.

Shoving his phone back into his pocket, he told his son. "Right, sorted."

"Thank you, father." Gideon hugged his father, his worry gone. Rumpel chuckled at his son and held onto him tightly, his hand holding the back of Gideon's head. His baby boy meant more to him than anyone. Moments like these were worth all the trouble, but also caused a heavy tug on Rumpel's heart. He should have been able to do this for Baelfire. The chance for those moments was gone now.

Pulling away from his son, Rumpel's demeanour was sad as he grabbed the bag of food from the counter. He opened the door to his shop for his phone to ring again. Rumpel huffed at the irritation of his phone and closed the door to his shop to pull his phone out of his pocket again.

He flipped it open and answered it. "Hello!"

"Hi, Rumpel." Ruby said quietly, taken aback by Rumpel's bark down the phone.

"Oh, Hi Ruby. Sorry." Rumpel apologised as he put the food back on the glass counter. "What can I do for you?"

"The cabin's locked." Ruby informed him, her voice still edgy. Rolling his eyes, Rumpel held his hand over the phone and picked the food up off the counter to give to Gideon. "Take this to your mother. She's at your place. I've got to take care of this." Rumpel told him before leaving the shop. "I'll be right there, Ruby."

He shoved his phone after hanging up back into his pocket, hoping it would be a while before the damn contraption rung again. He missed one thing from the Enchanted Forest: peace and quiet. No mobile phones that interrupted him. It would be days, or even months, before Rumpel would speak to anyone. Until, of course, he had brought Belle to his castle and everything turned on its head. The castle had come to life with her presence. The dark shadows gone with the light she took with her wherever she went.

Following the trail, Rumpel came to the opening of his cabin to find the cabin door open. He frowned walking over to the wooden deck, inspecting the roses that were sat outside by the door. As he near the doorway to the cabin, Ruby came out and jumped at seeing Rumpel.

"Hi!" Ruby held her hand over her chest.

"You said it was locked on the phone." Rumpel gestured towards the door as he spoke.

"Yeah," She looked hesitantly at the door. "I found a window that was open, so I climbed in."

He scratched at the side of his head. "Right…" Rumpel's gaze went to the roses. "I'll give you a hand getting these in then." He said reaching down to the roses.

"Wait, weren't you having lunch with Belle?" Ruby questioned, frowning at him.

"Was. Got interrupted by life." Rumpel told her, carrying the bucket with the roses into the cabin. She shrugged her shoulders at him and gave him a smile before grabbing the other bucket of roses. He eased his suit jacket off his shoulders and hung it on the coat stand near the door, and rolled his shirtsleeves up. Now he was here, he might as well help Ruby get it ready for his son and Lilly.


	5. Chapter 5

They had the spent the afternoon sorting through the cabin, tidying things away and laying out items to make the evening special for Gideon and Lilly. Rumpel stood assessing the room, looking for anything that needed his attention, as he hoped that Gideon got the answer he was hoping Lilly would give him. He was sure that she would, the two were besotted with each other. It was nice to have something good to look forward to for the future. Just as he hoped that Belle and him would be able to grow their family in the future, if that was what she wanted as well.

They had spoken about how Belle understood how Snow had felt. Not having the chance to bring up your own child and missing so much of their life. Rumpel did not miss it. He remembered the sleepless nights. He remembered the times he had spent at Baelfire's bedside, willing him through another illness or shushing away nightmares. Although, as he pondered on it, there was a small part of him that wished they could have brought up Gideon. Seeing his son take his first steps would have been magical, as it had been watching Baelfire.

What did wishful thinking do for him? Nothing.

Shaking his thoughts away, he straightened the roses that were in the vase near him. Just giving his hands some idle work to keep him from thinking. Bringing up old memories was not what Rumpel wanted to do anymore. He wanted to look at the future. His and Belle's future. Of course, he could look into the future if he wanted to but that always led to more trouble. Even after all this time, reading the visions from the future and interpreting them was an art form that alluded him.

Ruby came out of the bedroom. "Right. The bed has been changed and I have spread some rose petals around the room."

"Okay." Rumpel mumbled and turned to Ruby. "Thank you so much for helping me, Ruby. If there's something you need as repayment, just let me know and I will take care of it for you."

"Nah. We're good. I'm just glad to help." Ruby shook her head at him.

He moved across the room to stand next to her. "No, I have taken up your whole afternoon. You need to have some kind of payment for this."

"You" Ruby touched his face. "Just make my friend happy. That's all I care about. You two have spent so much time fighting to be together, it's just nice to see you both together." She told him smiling.

Rumpel smiled at her words, knowing they were genuine. "I can only try. Though," He chuckled and Ruby dropped her hand to her side as he continued. "She may kill me at the minute."

"I suppose not knowing is driving her insane." Ruby laughed and crossed her arms.

"I love her so much, but I just want her to have faith that I'm not doing anything bad." Rumpel was honest with Ruby as he found it easy to talk to her. "Though, you can't blame her with my past and the fact that I am keeping a secret from her."

"How come Gideon is keeping it a secret from her?" Ruby asked.

"Maleficent doesn't know either. He wants to announce it to everyone and keep it secret till then." Rumpel said, shrugging his shoulders at the young woman.

"Party!" Ruby clapped her hands in excitement. Rumpel smiled at her and rolled his eyes, any excuse for a party and Ruby was there. Chuckling at his thought, he pulled his keys out of his pocket and gestured towards the door. They both left together with a smile on their faces, grabbing their things as they exited the cabin. He locked the cabin and pocketed his keys and his hands into his pants pockets, his suit jacket hung from his arm. They walked together down the trail back to Storybrooke.

On entering the town, they said their farewells and Rumpel made his way home. The streets were quiet. Everyone was either sitting down to dinner or getting ready to hit the town's bars as it was Friday night. It did not interest him. Especially as he was avoided and stared at whenever he went anywhere in Storybrooke. It did not seem to matter to him if Belle was with him, but he would not endure the shunning on his own.

As he followed the sidewalk into his street, he could see someone standing in front of his house. Her hair bounced as she paced the path to his house. Rumpel rubbed at his forehead knowing this was not going to bode well. He had wondered why he had not had a phone call from her after blowing off their lunch plans. He just had not expected her to be at his house when he turned up.

His pace slowed the nearer he got to the house. Belle spotted him and marched towards him, she looked angrier than he had thought she would be "Where have you been!"

"Sorry, I had to" She cut him off with a shove at his chest. "I have been here all afternoon. Gideon said you had to go home to get an item for a customer."

Rumpel groaned before he said. "Belle, sweetheart, just listen to me."

"Why is he covering for you!" She yelled at him. "And why are you ordering roses from my father!"

"What?" He was not surprised that Maurice had blurted that to Belle. He had just hoped he would not have done it until the weekend was over.

"My father told me that you ordered a load of roses and had him deliver them to the cabin. To which I told him that you were having the cabin redecorated." Belle poked his chest. "He laughed at me! My father laughed at me and then told me that Ruby was at our cabin, making herself at home."

Rumpel shook his head in disbelief. "What!"

"Don't you what me! I saw you at the diner in the kitchen, whispering to each other and standing close together. Then father told me about the cabin. With my friend of all people!" Belle started to cry as she shouted at him.

"I don't believe this." He said and sniggered at his disbelief of the situation. "Are you accusing me of having an affair? Me?"

"I don't know what I'm accusing you of! I just know there's something going on and you're not telling me what it is. And now, you've roped our son, OUR SON, in to cover for you!" Belle shoved him as she spoke to him. So far from the truth, Rumpel would have laughed if it would not upset her more.

"Right, okay, sweetheart." Rumpel walked pass her and ignored her. Nothing made sense now. He had never seen her this distraught before and it seemed whatever he said was just making it worse. Walking up the path to his house, he shook his head at himself, wondering why he ever bothered helping anyone. It only brought him heartache.

"I SAW YOU TOGETHER!" Belle screamed from behind him.

Stopping with his foot on the step to his porch, he turned on the spot to look at her. "What?"

"You and Ruby!" Belle said sternly, lowering her voice. "She touched your face!"

"When?" Rumpel was trying to think about it, hoping to get there before she told him so he could explain.

"She came out of the bedroom in the cabin and you went over to her. You were standing next to her and talking and then she touched your face." Belle had streams of tears running down her face.

Shaking his head, he went over to her and held her by her upper arms. "Sweetheart, it is not what it looks like at all. I promise you. Let me explain. Come inside and we'll talk."

"NO!" Belle shrugged his arms away. "Don't touch me! I don't want to know!" She screamed before running off down the street. There was a moment where he thought he should go after her. He shook it away. Instead, he trudged his way up into his house and slammed the door behind him. If she could not trust him or believe him when he spoke the truth, what the hell was the point?

Entering the kitchen, he threw his keys onto the side and his jacket onto the end of the counter, and went to his friend that was waiting. He poured a large whiskey for himself and downed it before taking his phone out of his pocket. As he dialled, Rumpel poured himself another large whiskey.

On the fourth ring, Gideon answered. "Hey, father."

"Hey." Rumpel's voice was deflated. "The cabin's ready for you."

"What's wrong?" Gideon asked concerned.

"Don't you worry about it, son. I want you to take Lilly to the cabin and enjoy yourself. Even if you don't ask her tonight, I want you two to have a nice evening." Rumpel told his son before downing his whiskey again.

"Father, there's something wrong." Gideon stated, but Rumpel did not want to ruin his son's evening with his parents' problem.

The glass chinked against the neck of the bottle as Rumpel poured another drink. "Go and have a nice evening, Gideon."

"Okay." Gideon said. "I'll call you in the morning." Rumpel closed his phone and tossed it onto the counter whilst he downed another drink. He leant onto the counter. The voice in the back of his head was telling him how it had told him it would not work. Something always broke them. It would be so easy to allow the darkness to overtake him again. Rumpel did not want it to. Even if Belle in that instant hated him and did not believe him, he had to remain strong. As he told her, he had to fight for her love. This was just the first bump of many.


	6. Chapter 6

Sometimes having magic could be such a burden, especially to ones liver. Rumpel lay on his bricked patio with an arm over his face, covering his eyes from the bright light. After two and half bottles of whiskey, he had decided that he wanted to lay under the stars. Hence why at ten o'clock in the morning, still feeling the effects of being drunk, Rumpel was lying on his patio. It was so simplistic. Nothing to bother him. Just him, the stars and whiskey. What more could he want?

He licked his lips and his arm fell from his face to lay beside his head. Rumpel watched the clouds move across the sky. It was such an easy life being a cloud. They formed; they drifted with the wind and then they were gone. No heart to torment. No love ones shouting at you in the middle of the street. Airing all your dirty laundry, which was a lie, for everyone to hear. He did not care that everyone heard. The fact that she believed it was enough to kill him.

Rolling onto his side, Rumpel cushioned his head with his arm and closed his eyes. The pain he saw in her eyes was rawer that anything he had seen before. He had seen a hint of it once before, when she had confronted him about doing things with the Evil Queen. Not as strong as it was yesterday. Seeing as they were not together at the time was probably the reason and that she had been seeing Will Scarlet at the time.

"Father!" A yell came from inside Rumpel's house. Rumpel ignored it, just like he had when his phone had rung too many times to count that morning. He did not want to know. It just caused him pain. He never had this trouble when he lived on his own, believing that everyone he loved was either dead or lost to him. Loving people made you weak and it hurt.

A pair of hands pulled at Rumpel's open shirt before grabbing Rumpel's shoulder to turn him to lie onto his back. "Father!"

Opening his eyes, Rumpel found Gideon leaning over him. "Hello, son."

"What are you doing on the floor?" Gideon looked around the patio, seeing the evidence of his father's evening activities.

"I just had a drink." Rumpel said in a singsong voice.

"A drink or two." Gideon mumbled, pulling his father up into a sitting position. Rumpel's shirt draped open at his sides, showing his bare chest where the shirt parted. Rumpel did not care how he looked. The one person it mattered to hated him.

"What's happened?" Gideon questioned as he touched his father's face, looking at all the dirt that was in his father's hair.

"Well, son," Rumpel began, taking on the voice of his alter ego. "You see your mother thinks I'm up to no good. She thinks I'm banging red riding hood. Though, okay in the past, when I thought your mother was dead I may have thought about it, but no more. Only eyes for your mother."

"What!" Gideon held his father by his shoulders.

"Yep." He nodded at his son but stopped when everything started spinning.

Gideon frowned. "Why does she think that?"

Rumpel gestured between them. "You're little secret. Your mother has… a super power." He laughed stealing Emma's saying. "She can sniff out a secret plot. Except! Your grandfather… God that's weird calling him that, since I'm older than him."

"Father, what about grandfather?" Gideon shook his father.

"He's told your mother that I ordered roses and that Ruby was at the cabin when he delivered them." As he spoke, the thought began to sober him. "She saw Ruby and me together, but it was nothing. It meant nothing. But she's took it to mean that Ruby and me are having an affair."

"This is all my fault." Gideon said, dropping his head in guilt.

Rumpel shook his head and used his hand under Gideon's chin to tilt his head back up. "Hey! No, it's not. As long as you had a good time last night, it's worth it."

"Father, your relationship with mother is probably over because of me." Gideon said shaking his head at himself.

"It doesn't matter." Rumpel clasped Gideon's face between his hands. "As long as you get your happiness, I am willing to pay the price." Gideon's shoulders dropped at his father's words. "Anyway, did you ask her?"

Gideon looked up to his father. "Yes."

"And?" Rumpel urged, his thumb subconsciously stroking his son's face.

"She said yes." Gideon said while a smile swept across his face. Pulling his son towards him, Rumpel squeezed his eyes shut and hugged him, his heart bursting with joy for him. The two times he had asked a woman to marry him, it was only the second time that had filled his heart with joy and excitement. Rumpel was grateful to whoever, that his son was able to feel the same sensation that Belle had given him when she had said yes.

Gideon pulled back from his father. "I need to go and speak to mother. I need to sort this out."

"No." Rumpel said sternly. "You will not. You are going to spend the day with your fiancée."

"But, father!" Gideon exclaimed. "I can't be happy knowing I've done this to my parents."

"You didn't do anything, son." Rumpel tried to smile at his son. It looked more like a grimace. "We'll sort it out. We always do. Don't worry about it."

"I do though." Gideon confessed, his eyes staring at the bricked patio.

Rumpel shook his head at his son and patted him on the shoulder. "Help me get up. Time I sorted myself out."

Gideon grabbed onto the hands that Rumpel offered towards him and pulled his father up into a standing position. He took hold of the opportunity and hugged his father. Rumpel sighed into Gideon's shoulder, stroking the back of his son's head to sooth him. It did not matter. The love Rumpel and Belle had was endless. He knew that now after all their history. If it were strong enough, then it would prevail no matter what was thrown at them. Even if she had the wrong end of the stick, it would all sort itself out.

"Gideon," A small voice came from the patio doors. "The tea is brewed." The two men parted from their hug to look at Lilly standing in the doorway. She looked bewildered standing in Rumpel's patio.

Rumpel did his best to smile at the young woman and walked over to her saying. "Congratulations."

Her smile blew him over for a second. She was so happy. As he went to step pass Lilly, she must have misinterpreted his intention and slung her arms around his neck to hug him. Rumpel froze. Slowly he put his arms around her, telling himself she was going to be family and he had to get used to this show of affection towards her. Lilly kissed his cheek and then withdrew from their hug to hug Gideon as he came into the house.

Rumpel stripped himself of his shirt and threw it to the counter. "I'm going to have a shower and get changed."

"Do you want some breakfast?" Lilly asked, looking at him expectantly where he stopped on the bottom step.

"That would be lovely." He told her and climbed the stairs to his bedroom. His door was wide open as he entered his bedroom and he closed his door behind him. There was no reason for him to shut the door when it was only him living in the house, but with the kids downstairs, he thought better of it. Rumpel entered his bathroom and turned on the shower, leaving it to get warm.

Undoing his pants, Rumpel let them fall and stepped out of them, his underwear following with his socks behind them. It was too bad it was not that easy to strip yourself of your past. If he could change, anything from his past, it would be all the secrets he had kept from Belle. Then hopefully, she would not be so distrustful of him. Rumpel could not get over that she could believe that he would have an affair. For nearly thirty years, he had held a torch for her, keeping their precious cup with him all that time.

He stepped under the spray of the shower and stood there, leaving all his thoughts outside of the shower. With the nice quiet time alone in the bathroom, Rumpel was able to wash and dry himself before thinking anymore about Belle. Returning to his bedroom just left him seeing different memories of them together. He dressed quickly to escape the torment and returned to the lovebirds downstairs, who were serving pancakes and bacon onto three plates.

"Ah!" Rumpel mumbled. "That smells delicious!"

"Take a seat at the table!" Lilly instructed as she put the pan in the sink. Rumpel entered the dining room to find it laid out, ready for breakfast. He sat down at the head of the table and took a sip of the orange juice that was waiting for him. The two lovebirds entered the room and Lilly placed a plate in front of Rumpel. His eyes eagerly ate up the sight of the food in front of him.

"I hope you like it." Lilly said gingerly, sitting down to Rumpel's right with Gideon taking the seat to his left.

"Sweetie, it looks fantastic." Rumpel told her and reached over to squeeze her hand. "Thank you." Her cheeks blushed at his thank you. They happily chatted as they ate, sharing some of the details from the previous night with Rumpel. He was so glad it had all gone how his son had wanted. It made the pain in Rumpel's heart lull hearing the excited lovebirds, reminiscing about their evening.

A phone started ringing. Gideon dropped his knife and fork onto his plate with a clatter, quickly pulling the phone out of his pocket. He looked from the display to Rumpel, swallowed and answered the phone.

"Hey, mother." Gideon said, leaning back against his chair. "Not yet. We're just having breakfast with father." His eyes widened at the voice on the phone. "Okay. Calm down. I will come by later." Gideon shook his head and rested his elbow against the table. "Yes, okay. Bye."

Gideon left his phone on the table, pushing it further away. "I don't know whether I want to go home."

"Go home." Rumpel said as he ate and sipped at his orange juice. "Don't treat her any different. We'll sort it out."

"She honestly thinks you would cheat on her?" Lilly asked as she laid her knife and fork on her plate.

Rumpel took a deep breath. "It's my fault. There is many things, I have done in our past that I'm not proud of. A lot of it has caused deep scars. Seeing something with your eyes though, is more convincing than what you feel or believe sometimes."

"Why don't you just go to her then and sort this all out?" Gideon pointed the question to Rumpel, gesturing with his hand that held his drink.

"Because, son," Rumpel could not help the smile. "You will learn that your parents are both very stubborn. I am not going to chase her around Storybrooke. I have been there and done that. She won't listen to me." He said finishing his food. "She needs to sort this out on her own."

"I'll talk to her then." Gideon said, repeating what he said earlier on the patio.

He reached for his son's hand and squeezed it tightly. "You are not going to say anything to her. Neither of you." Rumpel looked at Lilly as he spoke. "Just give her some time. It will all be fine. She'll learn the truth at your party."

"That's a week away! You're going to let her think for a week that you've cheated." Lilly exclaimed.

"She'll either calm down and come and talk to me," Rumpel sat back into his chair. "Or she will learn the truth then. I'm telling you both, it'll be fine. Anyway," He said before tapping his hand on the table to change the subject. "What do we have planned for the weekend? Picnic in the park? Rowboat on the lake? Day at the beach?"

Gideon chuckled. "I thought you said you only did what felt right at the time. Those are very romantic suggestions."

Rumpel gave his son a knowing smile and finished the last of his orange juice. The two laughed at him, but Rumpel did not care. Inwardly he was worried but he would not let his mask drop for them to see it. He had told himself last night that he was not going to her. He was not going to beg for forgiveness for something he had not done. If she loved him, then she would see the truth. She had to see the truth.


	7. Chapter 7

The weekend had gone by quickly thanks to Gideon and Lilly spending the weekend at Rumpel's house. He was grateful for the company. They had sat talking on his patio most nights, planning the engagement party and future plans for their wedding. Lilly and Gideon were going to spend a couple nights at Maleficent's house. He understood that Lilly wanted to spend some time with her mother, but he was going to miss having the two of them around.

He was not happy that Gideon was avoiding his mother. At least Gideon was doing as his father had wished and had not told Belle the truth so Gideon could have his surprise announcement. After visiting his mother on Saturday, Gideon had returned to the house a little battered around the edges. It seemed the fieriness that Rumpel loved to see in Belle was simmering close to the surface and Gideon had witnessed it for the first time.

Rumpel studied the menu in Grannies diner, trying to decide what he wanted for his lunch. He was waiting for Ruby to come and serve him, so he could chat to her about Belle. He had avoided town all weekend. If they had needed anything, Gideon and Lilly had gone out to get it. Therefore, when he saw Ruby come out through the door from the kitchen, he was surprised to see the purple bruise on her cheek. She spotted him and stopped. They looked at each other.

Ruby made her way over to him and slid into the seat opposite him in the booth. "Hi."

"What happened to you?" Rumpel asked, indicating her cheek by pointing to his own.

"Yeah." Ruby fidgeted with her apron. "Belle came to see me on Saturday."

"Oh." Rumpel mumbled down at the table.

"She told me" He looked up from the table to Ruby as she spoke. "To keep my slutty hands off of her husband."

Rumpel closed his eyes in disappointment. "Sorry."

"I take it she still doesn't know?" Ruby asked, leaning forward onto the table.

"The party is this Friday. So, no." Rumpel informed her, grimacing at the bruise on Ruby's face. "I can't believe she hit you."

Ruby's eyes widened at his words. "I think beating your mother up has brought out the thug in her."

"Do you want me to heal it for you?" Rumpel suggested, waving his hand over his face to gesture his point.

"No, it fine." She told him and then added. "She might get the wrong idea if she sees the bruise is gone."

"But there isn't anything to get wrong." His voice got deep. "We haven't done anything."

Ruby smile at him. "Have you never heard that people in love are crazy?"

"I'm starting to think psychotic." He said, rubbing at his chest remembering the poking and shoving Belle had inflicted onto him. They laughed as the door to Grannies opened. Silence descended over Grannies as Belle walked in. Rumpel and Ruby both inwardly groaned, seeing the look on Belle's face when she spotted the two of them in the booth together.

"Oh, really!" Belle said loudly. "It's public now!"

Rumpel slipped out from the booth and Ruby followed him as he said to Belle. "Sweetheart, let's talk about this outside."

"No!" Belle said and pointed to Ruby. "I told you! Stay away from him!" Ruby held her hands up in surrender and walked off deeper into Grannies, getting away from the confrontation. Rumpel shook his head at her and grabbed Belle's wrist, dragging her whilst she protested out of Grannies and down the steps to the outside seating area. She tried to struggle against him, hitting his arm to get him to release his hold.

He pulled her close. Close enough so he could feel her breath on his face and growled at her. "Stop it!"

"Stop what?" Belle stared into his eyes. That fiery temper was there. He loved winding her to get the fire lit, so they would argue over nothing to take her to bed. Her temper made her possessive in bed, fighting to dominate him.

"I haven't done anything. Ruby hasn't done anything." He told her calmly, his eyes darting between her eyes and her lips. "You owe her an apology."

Belle laughed. "No, I don't. You two are going behind my back!"

"Sweetheart, I swear to you, I haven't done anything!" Rumpel pleaded with her, his fingers clenching her upper arms.

"You don't get to call me sweetheart again!" She said, her finger pointing at him in his face.

He could not help the smirk as he said. "You remember that when you find out. When you find out the truth. Then you will owe me." Rumpel edged his face closer to hers, his lips brushing against hers. "You will beg me to take you."

Belle was under his spell for a second and then yanked herself backwards, taking a step away from him. "No, I won't!"

With a knowing smile, he brushed passed her and left her standing outside Grannies. Rumpel walked the sidewalk in the direction of his next destination, now that his wife had rudely interrupted his lunch he had lost his appetite. He pushed open the door and was greeted by the sweet smell of flowers as he entered the establishment of his father in law.

Taking in the sight of the different colours on display, Rumpel knew that his father in law had come from the back room and was watching him. Rumpel let his gaze work its way around to his father in law, the man stood in the doorway to the back room with his arms crossed over his chest. He had never thought much of Belle's father. A man who had so easily allowed his daughter to be taken away from him, held no respect in Rumpel's eyes. The man had plenty of chances to come and fight for his daughter's freedom. Rumpel knew what was more important to Maurice, his kingdom.

"Hello, Maurice." Rumpel said clasping his hands in front of him and rocked on the balls of his feet.

"Whatever you want, I'm not interested." Maurice told Rumpel. "You just proved to my daughter, again, that you are the beast I told her you were." Rumpel closed his eyes at the man's words, not allowing them to get the better of his temper. If it was six years ago, he would have happily beaten the man with his cane. Oh wait, he already did that!

Smiling at the memory, Rumpel opened his eyes to stare at Maurice. "You are going to give me a bunch of Belle's favourite flowers. And I want a mix of carnations and hyacinths in another bunch."

"I don't have to serve you." Maurice stood his ground and puffed his chest out at Rumpel.

"Maurice," Rumpel step towards the man in front of him. "I don't care what you think of me. I could not give a damn. But, you're wrong. She changed me and now you've corrupted her against me. I will win her back because the truth is on my side. Now," Rumpel reached out to touch a flower that caught his eye. "If you want to be a part of our growing family, then get me the bunches I have asked for."

The man in front of Rumpel swallowed hard, evident by his adam's apple bobbing. "Belle's pregnant?"

Rumpel thought about it for a moment and let the man's question linger before saying. "Flowers."

The man mulled it over before disappearing into the back of the shop. Rumpel knew he should probably correct his father in law, but he let a small amount of darkness linger instead. Maurice had been interfering in Rumpel's business long enough. He could never get rid of the man, she would never forgive him if he did, but that did not mean he could not play mind games with him. In addition, if anyone asked, Rumpel did not lie to the man. Their family was growing, just not the way Maurice thought.

His father in law reappeared with the bunches that Rumpel had requested. Without saying anything, Rumpel took the bunches and left with the protests of payment following him out of the door before the door shut. As he said, he did not care about Maurice. The man was more of a coward than Rumpel ever was.

Ambling down the alleyway to the back of Grannies, Rumpel slipped in through the back door and edged to the opening to the seating area. He peered around the corner and spotted Belle in their usual booth, where he had sat earlier chatting to Ruby. The door to the kitchen opened and Ruby came out to gasp at Rumpel.

"Rumpel." She said, her eyes fleeting a look towards Belle before stepping out of sight.

"Sorry." Rumpel offered a bunch of flowers to Ruby.

Ruby took them and looked at them. "Aw… You didn't need to do this."

"It's not fair that you've been dragged into this." Rumpel glanced around the corner again, watching Belle slurping her ice tea. He loved watching her.

"How did she find out?" Ruby asked, as she smelt her flowers.

"Belle's father." He told her turning to look at her. "He told her that you were at the cabin when he delivered the roses and that you were supposedly making yourself at home. He always has a way of poisoning her against me."

Ruby pursed her lips. "You wait till he comes in for food."

Rumpel smiled at her and touched her shoulder as he turned to leave, going back out into the alleyway. Crossing the street, Rumpel headed over to the library and detoured himself up the stairs to Belle and Gideon's apartment. He waved his hand and unlocked the door, letting himself into her home.

Leaving the door open, Rumpel went over to the kitchen counter and laid the flowers on the counter. Rumpel took a piece of paper from her notebook she kept by the phone and her pen. He wrote out a note, telling his wife how she was the only one in his heart and that he was sorry she had the wrong impression. He left it beside the flowers and left her apartment, relocking the door behind him.


	8. Chapter 8

The past two days had gone without incident. Rumpel had kept himself in his shop and had avoided going anywhere he thought that Belle would visit. There was no need for him to chase her like a puppy dog, begging her to pay attention to him. He had not done anything wrong. For once, it was not him. He took a small amount of pride in that fact, but did not let it go to his head, remembering all the times he had actually been up to wrong and she had caught him out. She was winning.

Sat at his dining room table, Rumpel listened to Gideon and Lilly going over everything they had organised for their party. They had organised to have the party at the mansion. It seemed to be the go to place now for having a celebration. He had to admit, it was the perfect venue. Grannie had agreed to supply the food. They were going to use the same DJ that Snow and Charming had used, who worked at the Rabbit Hole. Rumpel did not care what they wanted as long as they were happy, giving them free range with his credit card. Fathers were usually good for something: money.

Rumpel chuckled at the thought and sipped at his whiskey as Lilly showed Gideon a dress she liked in a magazine. "I would love that dress."

"If you want it, babe, have it." Gideon told her.

"Gideon, it's a four hundred dollar dress." She scolded him and carried on turning the pages in the magazine.

"If you want it, dearie, you can have it." Rumpel told her putting his glass down on the table.

Lilly touched his hand. "Thank you, Mr Gold. But… you've done enough for us. I couldn't ask you for this."

"First things first." Rumpel lent forward onto the table and laid his hand on top of hers that was on his other hand. "You have to call me Rumpel, not Mr Gold. Second, my dear, money is never a problem in this household. You two will have whatever you want, as long as I am alive. If you want that dress, by money or magic, you will have it."

His words touched her. He knew they would. Growing up as they had, with no parents and fighting for everything, it was touching for someone to be so giving and expect nothing in return. Lilly squeezed his hand and drew her hand out between his to flick back to the dress she liked in the magazine.

"I don't think it would get here by Friday." Lilly stated to them, her finger tracing the picture of the dress.

"I can't have that." Rumpel said and clicked his fingers. The dress she had been looking at in the magazine appeared at the other end of the table. It lay in a plastic sheet to protect it. Lilly jumped up from her chair with surprise and soon forgot it as she picked up the dress from the table.

The doorbell rang. Gideon excused himself and disappeared off into the rest of the house to answer the door. Smiling, Rumpel watched as Lilly laid the dress against herself, seeing how it looked against herself. It reminded him of their honeymoon, when he had changed Belle's outfit into the long flowing gold dress. Lilly face was an exact match to Belle's. It was nice to see that he bring some happiness again with his magic. He could hear raised voices coming from the hallway. Nothing though, was going to break this moment of happiness that he had given to Lilly. She swished the dress about, mimicking how it would look when she was dancing. Rumpel knew that she had never really experienced moments like this.

Lilly looked up from her dress to Rumpel. "Thank you so much, Mr Gol… I mean, Rumpel."

"You don't need to thank me, sweetie." Rumpel stood and took his glass from the table. "You make him happy and that's enough for me." She smiled at him as he left to go into the kitchen. Coming around the corner into the kitchen, Rumpel could hear Gideon talking to someone at the front door. He finished his drink and put the glass on the counter as he passed it heading to the front door to join Gideon.

Nearing the hallway, he could hear who was at the door. "Why don't you come home!"

"Mother, please." Gideon implored his mother.

Rumpel placed his hand on his son's shoulder, causing the young man to look at his father, and said. "Gideon, go to Lilly. It really suits her."

Belle's brow furrowed. "What does?"

"Nothing, Belle, you'll see later." Rumpel said as Gideon ducked pass his father to re-join Lilly in the dining room.

"Are you keeping him from me?" Belle questioned, her finger pointing the accusation at him.

He chuckled. "Nope. They are free to come and go as they please. He is old enough to make his own decisions."

"Not if he doesn't know the whole truth!" Belle raised her voice at him.

"Look, swee… I'm telling you you're wrong about what you saw. It was innocent." Rumpel told her as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants. He wanted to touch her. Her cheeks were red from her temper. The vein on her neck was pulsing with her temper getting the better of her. The temptation to nibble it was becoming too much.

"I don't understand this." Belle touched her forehead as she spoke. "I know what I saw, because I saw it!"

"No, dearie, you saw what you wanted to see." Rumpel took a step forward towards her. He fantasied about grabbing her and pining her against the doorframe, kissing some sense into her. He knew that was impossible. Belle would probably beat him to the floor.

Belle squinted her eyes at him. "I want Gideon to come home with me now. He shouldn't be around you."

"Gideon!" Rumpel called, leaning against the doorframe.

Lilly and Gideon came from the dining room and stopped in the opening to the living room from the hallway. "Yeah?"

"Your mother wants you to go home with her." Rumpel told him, looking at him from the corner of his eye over his shoulder.

"I'm not going home." Gideon moved closer to the doorway, so he could see Belle better. "Mother, please, this is not…"

Rumpel shushed his son with a wave of his hand. "Just come to the party on Friday, Belle. And like I said, you'll be begging me to call you sweetheart."

"Fine. If you want to celebrate the fact your father is cheating on me, then don't let me stand in your way. I'll be there on Friday and we'll see whose begging who." Belle told him and then stomped her way down his porch steps, disappearing into the night. He closed the door and waved his hand again to give Gideon his voice back.

"You should have let me tell her!" Gideon touched his father's shoulder to stop him walking off.

Rumpel turned to his son. "If she wants to be stupid, then let her carry on. At the end of it, she will be shown that she can trust me and that I don't do everything for myself. I would rather she think I was the devil, if it meant that my kid..." Rumpel paused and looked at Lilly. "My kids were happy. I am being selfless, something your mother prides herself on."

"Just as long as you know what you're doing." Lilly moved closer to Gideon, her arm snaking around his waist.

"Don't you worry your pretty face about it, dearie. I always have a plan." Rumpel said with a grin. Whether he was convincing himself or them, he did not know. A word that Snow had seemed to coin for herself, kept echoing at the back of his mind: Faith.


	9. Chapter 9

Entering the mansion, Rumpel smoothed his hand over the white shirt he was wearing and pulled at the open collar. The thin rope of the paper bag was digging into his fingers as he strolled up the driveway, keeping him grounded and from daydreaming about their honeymoon. Already there were people mingling in the mansion. He excused himself through the groups that were standing in the doorway and entered the ballroom.

Rumple could hear the music from the ballroom as he had come up the driveway. It was not his taste but then this was not his party. He spotted Gideon and Lilly in a corner, whispering something to each other. Grabbing hold of the chance before more guests arrived Rumpel crossed the dance floor to the lovebirds and greeted them both with a smile.

"Excited?" Rumpel asked, first hugging his son and then Lilly.

"I'm so nervous." Lilly confessed, her hand lingering on Rumpel's shoulder.

Gideon smiled at his fiancée. "Don't worry, it'll be fine."

"Here." Rumpel held the bag out to them. "Your first engagement present." Lilly cocked her head at him as she looked at the bag and then glanced at Gideon beside her. She took the bag from him and opened it. In the bottom of the bag was two jewellery boxes. Lilly took hold of both boxes and brought them out of the bag to give the bag to Gideon. She opened the bigger box of the two and gasped at the jewelled necklace inside. With her mouth wide open, she looked from the necklace to Rumpel and then to Gideon, and then back down to the necklace.

"I can't accept this!" Lilly said, holding the necklace to Rumpel.

Shaking his head, he took the necklace from the jewellery box and moved behind Lilly to put it on her. "My dear, these are special."

"What?" Lilly queried, her hand touching the necklace around her neck.

"These two items," Rumpel said taking the smaller box from Lilly and opened it to take the bracelet out of it. "Are enchanted. They belonged to a couple that, yes met an unfortunate end, but there love was ever lasting. These will protect your true love for one another."

"Who was the couple?" Gideon asked, watching his father fasten the bracelet around his wrist. It was not covered in jewels like Lilly's necklace, but it still looked as delicate.

"Romeo and Juliet." Rumpel informed them, clasping his hands in front of himself. He watched as the couple looked in shock at each other and then back to Rumpel. The smile he wore was genuine for them. Observing them through the week, he could see why his son was in love with this woman. She was patient, loving and always kind. Just like Belle was when she was not having a jealous moment.

Lilly suddenly stepped forward and kissed Rumpel on his cheek, making the elder man blush. "Thank you, Rumpel."

"My pleasure." Rumpel said looking over his shoulder and noticed more people were entering the ballroom. "I'm going to get a drink." They nodded at him as he walked away.

Truthfully, Rumpel did not want to be there. Social events were never his thing. People watching him, whispering about him. It never interested him. However, for Gideon and Lilly, he would put up with people whispering that he and Ruby had been caught. That he had done the dirty on Belle, like so many times before. The past was very unforgiving.

He told the barman his order of a large whiskey and gazed around the ballroom. It was not the largest ballroom he had ever been in, but for this occasion, it was nicest event he had attended. He could not comment on the Charmings anniversary party since he had only been there for five minutes before Belle had wanted to go home. Tonight he was going to make himself stay until the end, hoping his plan would go in his favour.

The barman returned with Rumpel's drink, with a nod of his head in thanks, Rumpel took his drink from the man. He sipped at it and wandered across the ballroom back towards his son and future daughter in law. Standing in front of them was Maleficent. He had not spoken to her since stealing Belle's heart back from Regina.

Coming to stand slightly behind her, he listened in on the conversation as Maleficent spoke to Gideon and Lilly. "Are you two going to tell me why we're having a party?"

"Not yet, mother." Lilly touched her mother's arm as she spoke. "You'll have to wait till later"

"If you're pregnant, just tell me now." Maleficent begged.

Rumpel coughed to interrupt. "Now, now, dearie, let the children have their moment."

"Hello Rumpel." Maleficent greeted, turning to include him into their group. "I hear you've been a naughty boy again."

"No, he hasn't." Gideon defended his father.

Rumpel smiled at his son in thanks and focus on Maleficent as he spoke. "It will all become clear later."

"Just as long as the apple fell far from the tree." Maleficent said, her gaze going to Gideon. "I would not want my daughter to experience the same behaviour from your son."

"Mother!" Lilly scolded, her hand touching Gideon's chest.

"I'm just saying." Maleficent held her hands up.

"It's fine, Lilly." Rumpel told her and then said to Maleficent. "You have nothing to worry about, Maleficent." As they had been talking, the chatter in the ballroom had become louder and couples were dancing on the dance floor.

Rumpel sipped at his whiskey, his gaze hovering over the couples. Watching the couples dance made him miss Belle more. It had been a long time since they had danced together. Fond memories flooded him, thinking about their time alone in this mansion, enjoying the simple pleasures of each other. He knew at that very moment she hated him, despised him, but he knew she loved him. They did not need enchanted jewellery to protect their love. It was more powerful than true love. It was endless.

A hand touched his arm and made him jump. It was Ruby. He smiled at her and took a step closer to her, trying to calm his heart from the scare.

"Hey." Ruby smiled.

Rumpel returned her smile. "Hi."

"You've been avoiding Grannies." She told him.

"Yeah," Rumpel said sipping his drink. "I didn't want to excite my wife again."

"Oh, she's been exciting herself." Ruby said, her hand touching his forearm that held his glass.

"What do you mean?" He asked, curious what his wife had been getting up to in Storybrooke.

Ruby looked around and leaned closer. "She was trying to find out how long our affair had been going on and asking all sorts of questions. Of course, how can I answer something that isn't true? Nevertheless, she was believes she's right."

"Sorry." Rumpel apologised.

"Just to warn you." Ruby started as she pointed to the other corner of the room. "She's already here and is over there. I received a glare as I entered the room."

"Oh, I didn't know she was here." Rumpel said, trying to spot his wife through the crowd.

Ruby sighed and tried to smile. "I never thought as Belle as the jealous type. You, yes of course. But her…"

"Love" He said turning his head to look at her. "It does crazy things to people. And of course, I am so irresistible." Ruby laughed at him and left him to filter through the crowd of dancers. He watched her until he lost sight of her and sipped at his whiskey.

Rumpel turned towards Gideon when he heard him call him. "Do you want another drink, father?"

"Erm," Rumpel looked at his drink and then nodded his head. "Yes, son, thank you." He also disappeared into the crowd. Noticing that Lilly was standing on her own, Rumpel sauntered over to her finishing the rest of his whiskey. She smiled at him as he came to stand beside her. He had never thought about having a daughter, not that he had only wanted sons. It must be different with a girl. They had spent nearly a week together and already Rumpel felt protective towards Lilly, wanting to give her everything that he wanted to give Gideon.

Gideon reappeared from the crowd, two glasses of champagne and a whiskey for his father. Giving them their drinks, Gideon looked around the room and then spoke to Lilly. "I think it's time. It's packed in here. Everyone must be here."

"Whatever you think, babe." Lilly said, leaving the decision to Gideon.

"Your mother is here." Rumpel interjected. With a nod of his head, Gideon stepped up onto the stage to talk to the DJ. He excused himself from Lilly and moved through the crowd heading to the patio doors. Finding the spot he wanted, he leant against the open doorway to the patio, his eyes trying to find Belle in the crowd. Rumpel spotted her. She was in the corner Ruby had indicated and was chatting to her father.

Rolling his eyes, Rumpel swigged his whiskey as Gideon addressed the room. "Hello everyone!"

The room quickly shushed. People crowded in the doorways to the adjoining rooms, trying to listen to Gideon as he spoke. "I would like to thank everyone for attending tonight. We know it was short notice for some, but nonetheless, thank you for coming. With all of you gathered tonight, Lilly and I would like to share some news with you all."

Gideon gestured for Lilly to come up onto the small stage and she joined him, pressing herself close to her future husband for strength. Watching Belle's reaction, Rumpel saw her interest was perked as she tried to raise herself to see over the sea of heads at her son. He did not need to watch his son's speech. He only had to watch his wife.

"I would like to take a moment to thank one special person in the room." Gideon said, trying to spot his victim in the crowd, who was oblivious as he stared at his wife. "My father, Rumpelstiltskin, is the main reason this has all happened tonight."

Rumpel's head snapped to look at his son as everyone in the room turned to looked at him in the doorway. This was not what Rumpel expected. "I hope the sacrifice that my father has shown me, I will be able to show to my children in the future. The selfless act of putting your love ones before your own happiness is a lesson a lot of us have yet to learn."

Slipping from the doorway, Rumpel stood out on the patio listening. "He has kept a secret all week. A secret that I made him promise not to tell anyone." Rumpel rubbed at his forehead, he did not like being centre attention. "And that secret has… cascaded to cause my parents pain."

"Gideon." Rumpel whispered to himself and downed his drink. Yes, he wanted his son to have his announcement, but he did not think his son was going to lay it out so thick. He had only expected him to get up and tell everyone they were engaged. Gideon did not need to tell everyone that his father had a soft side. The Dark One was not as mean as they thought.

"You have all heard how my father has supposedly been having an affair with Ruby. It has been the talk of the town all week." Gideon said, causing Rumpel to cringe. "The only thing these two were guilt of was trying to help me. Help me propose to my fiancée in the most romantic way possible."

There was a unison gasp in the room as Gideon continued. "Yes, this party is to announce that Lilly and I are engaged to be married."

There was a roar of applause and wolf whistles. Rumpel held his hand over his heart. If he did not love his son, he would have killed him. He had hoped when Belle heard Gideon and Lilly were engaged. It would be enough for her to realise her mistake and come to him. Fight with him about how he had kept it to himself. Then, like always, they would sort it out their way. Now… Gideon had robbed him of his dignity. No one would look at him the same way again. They would know that he was not as bad as they thought. Rumpel did not know how to handle that. It was easy to ignore people, if they thought you were about to snap their neck or steal their heart.

He waved his hand and refilled his glass with whiskey as he sat down onto the steps to the patio. There was no way he was going back into that room. People would be looking at him now for the wrong reason. They would be whispering about how he had helped his son and that the Dark One must be losing his touch. The thought of more whispers was too much as he held his head in his hand, perching his elbow on his knee.

Suddenly a mass of brown curly hair swamped his view as a weight pressed down onto his shoulders and the new weight encouraged a groan to erupt from Rumpel. "Rumpel!"

"Oof." Rumpel moaned with the weight shifting off him and the knee hit him in his ribs.

"Why did you not tell me!" Belle grabbed at his shirt, tugging him.

Rumpel glanced at her and then at his glass. "My son made me promise not to. I try to keep my promises these days."

"You stupid man!" Belle clung to him. "Even when it meant that I would hate you."

"You told me that I had to be a good man." Rumpel reminded her, looking at her. "I was being selfless. I was putting our son first. His happiness first."

Belle clasped his face between her hands. "You let me think that you had cheated."

"Oh, no I didn't." Rumpel pushed her hands away. "You thought that! I told you it wasn't what it looked like."

"Rumpel." She purred at him and tried to reach for him again.

"I did what you would have wanted. But you could not trust me." He said catching her hand.

Her gaze fell. "I'm so sorry, Rumpel."

"All I have ever wanted is to be with you. I told you I was only interested in the path that was you and me." Rumpel told her, placing her hand he held against his heart. "Why the hell would I want to go off with someone else, when we were happy?"

She dared to look at him, her hand against his chest clenched at his shirt. "I'm sorry. I really am. I let my father twist me. I swear I did not believe him at first, but seeing the two of you in our cabin and her touching your face…"

"We were talking about you when she touched my face." Rumpel informed her, his hand resting on top of hers on his chest.

"I'm so sorry, Rumpel!" Belle pleaded as she edged closer to him. "I don't know what else to say to you. I can never make this up to you."


	10. Chapter 10

They had sat in silence. Everyone inside was having a good time and chatting. Rumpel and Belle sat on the step together, side by side, just being. They had not spoken and had fallen into an uncomfortable silence. His expectations of what would have happened after Gideon had revealed his engagement to Lilly had been totally blown out of water by real life. He had not expected to feel hurt. A new understanding of seeing it from Belle's point of view. Saying sorry did not change things. Yes, it was nice to hear. Like he had told her once, words do not hold much meaning, actions spoke louder.

Rumpel rubbed a hand over his hair and then held his head in his hand, leaning onto his knee to look at Belle beside him. She had fell silent after pleading that she loved him. It was not about love. It was how it seemed no matter how hard he tried. She was never going to trust him. Where were they with no trust?

A hand touched Rumpel on his shoulder. He gazed up to see Lilly and then scooted over on the step to allow her to sit down. Belle shifted as well, a bewildered look on her face as the young woman came to sit between them. Lilly linked her arm around Rumpel's, leaning against him, as she took hold of Belle's hand. They just sat there together.

After nobody saying anything for a bit, Lilly asked. "Are we going to sit here all night?"

"Hunnie, you should go back inside and celebrate." Belle told her, gesturing to the party behind them.

"I'm not going back inside till you two come in." Lilly said, her hand on Rumpel's forearm squeezing his arm. "You two need to hear something."

"What?" Rumpel mumbled, his fingers sliding into his hair, as he twisted his head to see Lilly beside him.

Lilly paused choosing her words. "For seven months, I have watched the two of you. You two are my first real experience of seeing what it is like to have both parents. Granted, Gideon's up bringing has been unconventional with him being brought up by his grandmother and being mistreated." At her words, Rumpel closed his eyes trying to forget that truth. "But you two have been there for him. You are so strong together, it's scary."

"Yes, and we're very good at hurting each other." Belle added.

"Hurt is part of love." Lilly told Belle before continuing. "If you didn't feel hurt, then you wouldn't know that you love each other. That is all I see when I see you two together. You love each other so much. I want that for Gideon and me. And I want my future husband to be happy."

Rumpel opened his eyes and said. "That's your job, sweetie."

"It's your job as well. You have spent all week making sure that we were happy and taking me under your wing, treating me like a daughter. But you're too stubborn to allow yourself the same courtesy." She told him. Rumpel smirked at her words. For someone so young, she had a very wise head on her shoulders.

"This is what you're going to do." Lilly pulled them closer to her. "We're going to kiss and make up, and then we're going to march into that ballroom and boogie. Understand?"

"Okay." Rumpel leaned into Lilly and kissed her on the cheek, pausing as he leant back to whisper. "Thank you."

She smiled at him before standing up. "I'll leave you to kiss and make up. I'm going to find Gideon, but if I don't see you in there in ten minutes I will be back."

He watched her cross the patio and slip into the ballroom through the patio door. His son definitely knew how to pick them, he thought to himself as he allowed his eyes to go to Belle beside him. She was staring at her toes. Scratching behind his ear, Rumpel shifted across the step to sit closer to her, their shoulders brushed against each other. With the contact, Belle coyly looked at him from the corner of her eye.

Rumpel reached out and took her hand. "I love you."

A small tear ran down Belle's cheek. "I love you too."

He leaned into her and turned her face with other his hand. Belle clenched her eyes shut as he kissed her softly. Her hands pressed into his face whilst she opened her mouth, begging for the kiss to deepen. Rumpel could not refuse her and shifted from the step, not breaking their kiss, to kneel on the step so he was in front of her. She pulled him closer with her hands snaking around to the back of his neck and opened her legs to allow him closer. The invite was gladly taken. He opened his mouth to her, leaning into her with his hands supporting his weight on the step she was sitting on.

Rumpel groaned disappointedly when Belle pulled away to rest her forehead against him, whispering to him. "She said kiss and make up, and then go inside."

"Did she indicate that we had to go inside there?" Rumpel was breathless as he spoke and wrapped his arms around Belle to prevent her escape.

"No loophole." She stroked the side of his face. "She said inside the ballroom."

"Well, dearie," He said releasing her to stand up, offering his hand to her. "Let's go join the celebration." Belle placed her hand into his, but she refused to let him pull her up when he tugged. He gave her a questioning look.

"Not dearie." Belle stated and then said. "Call me sweetheart, like you always do."

Rumpel smirked knowingly at her and then yanked her off the step, she had no choice but to stand and land against his chest. "Come on, sweetheart. Party time."

Leading her across the patio, he glanced at her over his shoulder as they entered the ballroom. A few people looked at them. Rumpel did not care as he drew Belle closer and placed a guiding hand on her lower back. Finding a space on the dancefloor, Rumpel turned Belle into him and smile at her as they began swaying with the music. She slid her arms up his chest and around his neck with his arms encircling her waist.

He scrunched his face in annoyance. "What the hell are they playing?"

"It's the dance music of this world." Belle informed him. He raised an eyebrow at her and then smiled, pulling her closer to rest her head against his chest. He had no care for the music that was playing, or for the eruption of groans, as the music changed. Rumpel was smirking into Belle's hair as the music they danced to on their honeymoon started playing. Everyone was looking around the room, complaining to the DJ, who stood dumbstruck, and claimed that his equipment was being hijacked. Rumpel carried on leading Belle in a sway to the music, her body shaking with laughter against him. They must have been the only ones dancing with the amount of curses the DJ was getting.

"Let them have their music back on." Belle told him, looking up at him from his chest.

He chuckled. "Really, dearie?"

"Yes." She pulled his head down to her and kissed him while the music returned to the previous track.

They abruptly jerked apart. Rumpel spun as Belle yanked away from him. Confused, he looked around to find Maurice had hold of Belle's wrist and was dragging her out of the ballroom. Rumpel shook his head and clicked his fingers to disappear from the ballroom to appear on the front porch of the mansion. Good timing prevailed, when seconds late Maurice was pulling Belle through the front door and out of the mansion. Rumpel clasped his hands in front of himself and reminded himself not to kill her father.

"Maurice." Rumpel's voice was dark as he spoke, scaring Maurice to a halt in front of him. "Let go of her." Some of the people that were hanging outside had edged their way towards the doorway of the mansion on hearing Rumpel's voice. Everyone knew better than to stay when that voice came out.

"You keep putting these spells on her!" Maurice bellowed, his finger accusing Rumpel. There was activity in the doorway before Gideon and Lilly came through the people.

"If you knew anything about magic," Rumpel chuckled at the close mindedness of his father in law. "You would know I could never make her love me with a spell."

"Father, let go of me!" Belle cried out, trying to pull herself away from Maurice.

Rumpel took a step forward. "Let go of her, Maurice."

"Go on, do your worse." Maurice goaded Rumpel. "Show her what you're like. Show them all."

"I don't have to." Rumpel gestured to everyone that was watching them. "They all know what I am. I am the darkest person here. But, you," He pointed to Maurice. "Are showing them how pathetic you are. You have the audacity to think you're being the hero. Saving your daughter. When all you have done is ruin our son's party."

Maurice glanced around at everyone and then at Belle. "He's a liarer!"

"He's my husband!" Belle hollered at him and snatched her hand out of his hold. She quickly moved behind Rumpel, her hand touching his back.

Maurice shoulders fell as Rumpel spoke to him. "I would advise you to" The larger man punched Rumpel in the face cutting off his sentence. It dazed Rumpel for a moment, but it astonished him that he was still on his feet. Blinking his eyes a couple of times, he felt Belle tighten her hold on him, trying to talk to him. He shook his head trying to clear the strange feeling from his head.

Rumpel reached up and touched his face where it was now sore, and drew his hand back to see the bright red blood on his fingers. "I would advise you to" Again Rumpel was cut off. The other man had decided to try to choke the Dark One, his two large hands clenched at Rumpel's neck.

A quick snap of his hand and Maurice let go of Rumpel. "As I was about to say before being rudely interrupted." Belle pleaded with Rumpel whilst Maurice looked baffled at them, ignoring her he carried on. "I would advise you to leave this party. You're just causing a scene."

"You're only going to do something to me when I leave. You just don't want her to see." Maurice pointed his finger at Rumpel again.

"Father, just go!" Belle told him sternly, her hand still on Rumpel's back.

"No! I won't have another grandchild be corrupted by this beast." Maurice was red in the face, his temper getting the better of him now.

Rumpel rolled his eyes. "There is no child. She's not pregnant. When I said growing the family, I was on about Gideon and Lilly."

"That's not what Belle told me!" Maurice said. Rumpel's eyebrows drew down on top of his eyes. He swore he heard Maurice correctly. Shuffling on the spot, Rumpel blinked at his confusion staring at Belle who was standing very sheepish beside him. She bit her lip, he liked that, but that was distracting.

"What?" Rumpel blurted at her.

Belle flashed a brief smile at him and then gave her father an evil look. "Yes, well… I was going to tell you…"

His face hurt with the smile that pulled at his cheeks. "You're pregnant?"

"Yes." She said returning his smile. Everyone else was forgotten. Rumpel grabbed hold of Belle and forced her into his chest. He held onto her for dear life, clenching the material at the back of her dress. Fate had given him so many chances and he had blown nearly all of them. Now, here was another chance at being a father again. Nothing would make him happier.


End file.
